Cupboard catch



April 1 3, 1948. H. QUIGLEY ETAL CUPBOARD CATCH Filed Jan. 8, 1945 H rberf u' Her 0 Tem ear Patented Apr. 13, 1948 E E PATENT om r.

Herbert Quiglff Meet, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to National Brass Company, Grand Rapids, Mich, a corporation t Michigan j Application January 8,1945, Serial No. 511,7 8; 1

This invention relates to cupboard latches used on the doors of cupboards, cabinets and the like, particularly kitchen cabinets, and while the present' invention has been produced for use with the doors closing cabinets and the like on trailers and other moving vehicles, it is also available for usewhereany latch'of this type or character may be used. .7

In the present invention it is an object and purpose to produce a latch of the kind named which is made rapidly and economically from sheet metal parts and very quickly and readily assembled. A tightening of the, grip on the latch upon its keeper when force is applied to the door in a direction tending to cause its opening is increased so that the latch is separable from the keeper only by a manual operation of the handle provided therefor. Furthermore, with the present invention rattling noises of the parts of the latch is eliminated by means of novel structure which holds the latch parts snugly against aimless movement which would produce rattling. Economy in production, novelty and simplicity in structure, elimination of rattling and insurance against a door carrying the latch being opened except when such opening is desired. are of the objects and purposes of this invention, as will be understood from the following description of a preferred form of the latch structure, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is avertical section through thelatch structuresubstantially midway between its sides and showing its application in use.

Fig. 2 is a transverse horizontal section substantially on the plane of line 2- 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is. a view similar to Fig. 1 with the latch disengaged from the keeper, as when the door is opened.

Fig. 4 is a transverse horizontal section substantially on the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

looking to the left, and

Fig. 5 shows in perspective the major portions of the latch parts in disassembledrelation.

Like reference charactersrefer to like parts in thedifierent figures of the drawing. 1 g

The latch which is mounted upon a hingedly mounted door is brought into releasableconnection with a keeper mounted uponan adjacent side of the door opening, or door jamb, which jamb is indicated at I. The keeper isstamped and formed from sheet-metal having a base 2 from which a post 3 is'turned at one edge atright angles, the post atits free end having a widened head 4 which is substantially of a diamond shape 7 Claims. (01. 292-52) as shown. The door-5 has the latch housing in whichthe movable parts of the latch mechanism are mounted permanently secured thereto. The latch housing has a base 6 extending at right angles from the inner edge of what may be called the inner side I of the housing. The housing has an outer side 8 parallel to the inner side and ends 9 as best shown in Fig. 5, said housing being of rectangular form in cross section as shown. The outer side 8 adjacent its outer edgeis provided with two. spaced apart narrow slots 10 and substantially midway between them and slightly inward with a circular opening I I (Fig. 5).

Within the housing, two keeper engaging jaw members are located one against the inner side of each of the sides I and 8 thereof. Each of said jaw members has a flat body I2 provided with an ear [3 having. an opening therethrough and an inwardly turned flange 1 lat its outer end. At its inner end' it is ofiset laterally and terminates in an inwardly turned immediate keeper engaging jaw 15. The two jaw members are identical in construction but are reversed in position when assembled in the latch so that, as shown in Fig. 5 the two immediate keeper head engaging jaws l5 are in opposition to each other,

the two ears l3 have their openings in alinement and the two ledges M are located substantially in the same plane. The openings in ears [3 are brought into alinement with the opening I l in the outer side 8 and a corresponding opening made directly opposite in the side 1 of the housing.

In the outer portion of the housing a rocking bar I6 is located made of flat metal and having its intermediate portion bowed outwardly as at l'l, and provided with two spaced apart tongues [8 which are adapted to be received in the slots 10 of the sides 8 of the housing. The ends of the bar are turned outwardly at right angles, providing triangular shaped projections I! as shown. Such rock bar by reason of the engagement of the tongues l8 in the slots. Ill has a limited rocking movementand lies outside of and substantially parallel to the ledges M.

'The operating handle for the latch is made from sheet metal in a generally channel form having an outer side 20 and two inwardly extending parallel sides or flanges 21, the edge portions of which, near each end, are turned inwardly at right angles as indicated at 22. leaving a central opening between said inturned edge portions into which the outer end of the housing extends. This operating handle in the assembly has openings through the sides or flanges 2| for the passage or a headed pivot pin '23, which first passes through one side or flange 2|, through the side 1 of the housing, through the openings in the two ears l3 and thence through the opening I l in the side 8 and finally through the opening in the opposite side or flange 2| and is headed over, permanently securing the parts together.

Mounted upon the pin 23 are two spaced apart springs each coiled substantially at its middle into colis 24, through which the pin 23 passes, and each having arms 25 and 26 extending outwardly generally in opposite directions from the coils.

The two arms 25 extend in opposite directions from each other, one over each of the ledges I4.

The other arms 26 extend in a generallyopposite direction from each other but ata sufficient angle to pass within and bear against the adjacent edges of the ledges I 4 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It is to be understood that in the as I and its repsective jaw member, and manually sembly such coils 24 are in proper location forjv the pin 23 to pass therethrough when it is being inserted through the several parts as previously described, and that the rocking bar. will have.

been located in place, as in Fig. 3, over the ledges l4 and also over the arms 25 of the twosprings'. The normal position of the parts of the latch when disengaged from the keeper head 4 is as shown in Fig. 3. The coils 24-of the spring be ing under tension the arms 25 f the spring exert a force tending tobring the adjacent edges of the keeper head jaws I together, and move the rocking bar [6 outwardly until the projec tions I9 bear against the inner side of the operating arm, the arms 26 'of the springs tending to move outwardly and interposing a stop against the edges of the keeper head jaws l5 coming toget-her. On closing a door-the adjacent edges of the jaws l5 ride against the inclined outer edges of the head 4 until they have passed around the head and engage against the inner inclined edges thereof, as in Fig. 1. Thus the door may be latched closed by merely moving it to closed position.

To release the latch the operating handle is pulled outwardly upon at either end thereof to rock it about the pin 23. This thereupon rocks the rocking bar inwardly against the arms 25 of the springs, causing the jaw members to swing outwardly away from each other and disengage from the keeper head, and permitting disconnection of the latch jaws from the head for moving the door to its open position. 7

The construction described is made substantially, all of it, from sheet metal, the parts being rapidly formed in large quantity production by suitable dies. The assembly is quick and easy and the operation is efiective and sure. The spring construction and assembly described maintains all contacting parts snugly in engagement with each other under jars and shocks such are liable to ocur in conjunction with cupboards, cabinets or the like built in trailers, Of course the latch is not limited for trailer use only but is of general application, being noise and rattle proof because of the novel structure outlined. There are many variations in detail of ie structure in the specific form of the operating handle used and otherwise and the invention is not to be limited to the disclosure made but is comprehensive of all forms of structure comprehended by the appended claims defining the invention.

We claim: 1. In a latch, a housing having an opening through which a keeper is adapted to extend, a pair of jaw members .pivotally mounted within operable means for moving said rocking bar against said spring. means for moving said jaw members away-from keeper engaging position. :2. A latch construction comprising, a housing open at. opposite sides into which housing at one of said open sides a keeper is adapted to enter, a pair of jaw members mounted to turn about a common pivot and located within said housing, said jaw members each having a jaw at a free end thereof, said jaws being swingable with said jaw members about said pivot away. from each other or toward each other, two coiled springs through which the pivot of said: jaw members extends, each havinggenerally opposite extending arms at the ends of the'coils, said jaw members atth'eirupper ends having laterally turned ledges, and said arms of the sprihgsextending one underneath a ledge of one jaw member and the other oversaid ledge and said spriii'gs being oppositely arranged, av rocker member mounted within and adjacent the other open end of the housing and mounted upon aside of the housing to'rack about an axis perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the jaw members, the arms of the springsoutwardly of said ledges being located at the inner side of said'ffickf member, and manually operable means mounted on said housing for rocking said rocker member against said springs to separate the jaws rroin each other. a

3. A construction having the elementsidefiiid in claim 2, said rocker member at each ridh'aving an outwardly extending projection, and said: manually operable means .for actuating said rocker member comprising, seamlesstending over said rocker member and over the adjacent endlof the housing in a direction generally parallel to the length of the reekermemher, said handle having a pivotal connect-ionic the pivot upon which the jaw members ar mounted, whereby on, pivotally rocking the handle about said pivotal axis'in either direction, said rocker member is moved against said arms of the springs with which it engages. I

4. In a latch construction, a hollow ho1ising of. generally rectangular form having opposite inner and outer-open sidesinto which housing at the inner open side thereof a keeper is: adapted to be entered, a pivot extending between and through opposite sides of the housing near the outer open end thereof, two identical 'jaw mem bers reversely positioned with respect-tdeach other located within saidhousing, each having an car near its outer .end and toward-oneside thereof throughwhich the pivot passes and-each having an inturned ledge adjacent its: outer end, said jaw members at theirfree ends being egg-1 tended laterally and terminating in" inwardly turned jaws adapted to engage opposite-sides of within the ledge of the opposite jaw member, the other of said springs having one arm extending over the outer side of said opposite ledge and its other arm within the inner side of the ledge of the first mentioned arm, a rocker bar of flat metal mounted for rocking movement on a side of said housing to rock about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said pivot, and manually operable means mounted on said housing to engage said rocker bar and rock it against the outer arms of said springs, as specified.

5. A construction containing the elements in combination defined in claim 4, said manually operable means comprising, a handle of a generally channel form having an outer web lying outwardly of and in general parallelism to the length of said rocker bar, and inturned flanges positioned one against the outer side of each side of the housing through which the pivot passes, said pivot passing through the flanges of said handle and said rocker bar at each end having an outwardly turned projection to bear against the inner side of said web, whereby the rocker bar is rocked inwardly upon pivotal operation of the handle in either direction.

6. In a latch, a body, a pair of jaw members pivoted on said body and adapted to engage a keeper, spring means acting to move said jaws into engaging position, an actuating member pivoted on the body on an axis transverse to the axis of the jaw members and movable into engagement with said jaws to move them into inoperative position, and a manual member pivoted on said body and movable in either direction about its pivot to engage and move said actuating member in a direction to move the jaws into inoperative position.

7. The elements of claim 6 in which said spring means acts between said jaws and said actuating means to also hold the actuating means into engagement with said manual member.

HERBERT QUIGLEY. HERMAN TER MEER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Dec. 5, 1938 Number Number 

